I have to give a big thank you to River for having a succulent garden and making me think I might like to try growing succulents. I have never grown them before. You may recall, I chose some Portulaca. In the photo above you can see how they looked on the 20th of September.
And here they are just one short month later on the 20th of October. They have taken off like mini rockets.
Above you see them on the 21st of October – as you can see, each day can make a huge difference in the flowers that appear. Some days there aren’t any but there are always loads of buds growing and so the suspense of when each flower will open is lots of fun to watch. :)
I had no idea how much I would enjoy watching their progress. These Portulaca plants have been an absolute revelation for me. Every morning the first thing I do after putting on my glasses is head to the back door to see whether they have any new flowers for me today.
You can see two of the plants are reaching out branches to each other..
I do have a routine of watering. Every second day, I give all the plant pots a good drink of 1 litre of water poured into each pot from some 2 litre milk carton friends I kept and drew a line on.
I am very careful not to wet the leaves, just the soil. If it is a hot day, I will usually do this about 3:30pm because around that time it is pretty shady out there thanks to a tree in the right spot. Around 20-30 minutes later, the sun peeks out from behind that tree and things get hot again.
On the alternate days, once the sun is on the way down, around 6-7pm, The Other Half waters with a hose – not a long water or a soaking, more like a sprinkle.
The flowers are truly gorgeous and there are many different colours. So far a lot of pink, yellow, and two different apricot shades have appeared. I’m sure this plant has many more lovely flowers in store for me this summer.
Would you like to join in with Sunday Selections?? The rules are very simple:-
1. post photos of your choice, old or new, under the Sunday Selections title
2. link back to River at Drifting Through Life, somewhere in your post
3. leave River a comment so that she knows you’ve joined in and can come over and see what you’ve posted.
I’m also linking up with Sunday Snap over at JibberJabberUK –
And the Maple Hill Hop.
Weekly Wrap Up –
It has rained almost every day this week. Sadly when it does rain, the portulaca flowers do not open! This has caused many sad moments here. However the chooks are having an absolute blast out there digging for bugs in this weather.
I discovered some submersible LED colour changing tealight “candles” this week and I’m a huge fan, they are gorgeous. I will have to update you urgently on the state of the candle shelf soon. :)
OO These are pretty!! :)
Super pretty.. wonderful plants to grow.. :)
Beautiful flowers! I find plants,especially flowering ones, very therapeutic. Apricot would be my favorite color.
It is a happy moment to wake up to new flowers every day. :)
I adore portulucas. And really should grow them again.
The garden meander is a joy isn’t it? It often sets me up for the day seeing what has flowered, what is about to flower…
It is probably my favourite part of the day at the moment. :) I just picked up a new nasturtium today as well.. :)
They are looking really, really good. Did you start with seeds or seedlings? I’m planning a few for my garden, just have to decide with empty space to put them in. Hopefully there are some still left at the nursery, or I’ll have to wait until next year.
These were seedlings from Floriana. I was at Bunnings today and saw another variety called Mexican Doll which tempted me, but I’m out of pots and potting mix.. I’m going to have to buy them, though. :)
I was reading about someone’s else succulents earlier on the week and now I maybe sold on them! In the winter here it can be difficult to find something of interest to put in the pots.
I think I had them confused with cactus for a long time which was why I steered clear.. but now I know better! ;)
Those are so pretty! I particularly like that there’s pink and yellow together – my two happy colours!
They are a wonderful plant to watch growing.. :) I did google and found some spoilers of how they might end up looking, they will need to be separated and repotted in larger pots before summer is over I think.. :) I might give some to my parents for Christmas, they have a great spot for them.
It’s so exciting to know that new blooms are on the way. I love these little flowers, they are so amazing to watch.
I love everything about them, even picking off the dead heads when they get dried up and ugly is a delight.. :)
I enjoy portulacas as well. They are such a cheery flower. Lucky you with all that rain! Thanks for sharing your outdoor post on this week’s Maple Hill Hop!
I might be speaking too soon, but I think the sun is back out again, yay! ;)
Always a favorite of my grandmother. The RG (retired gardener) is a fan of them too. They make a great border in the summer.
Thanks for dropping by my place, Gayle – I’l be dropping by yours shortly. :) I’m going to get a few more of these plants, they are truly amazing.. :)
I grew them years ago and loved them then. Why I haven’t grown them since I have no idea. Maybe your lovely post will get me going again. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for dropping by my place, lulubelleliz – I hope you find some portulaca to grow! ;)
These are wonderful! Such a wonderful variety and I thank you so much for sharing them with Today’s Flowers. Have a great weekend :)
Thanks Denise! I enjoy reading your blog. :)
I never tried growing them either, but you did really well, they are beautiful! And especially when there are water droplets on the beautiful flowers :)
Wen – every day there is a new surprise with these flowers.. today there was a white flower with apricot features inside.. :) I highly recommend these plants. Thanks for dropping by my place! ;)